Overcoming the Obstacles
by Darth Tromeros
Summary: A mysterious sickness and a dark force are sweeping across the galaxy.  As millions are in panic, Han and Leia are being, well, Han and Leia.  But then something happens that none of the sees.    Sorry for the bad description. XP
1. Chapter 1

**~A/N: Sorry if it's weird right now. My story beginnings are always awkward, especially fan fiction. I'm finally going to try to write a multi-chapter fan fiction, so sorry if it's bad. :P~**

The only thing seen in her eyes was a mixture of the atmosphere and worry. She frantically searched across the sky for any chance of seeing the ship she was waiting for; the thought of anything happening to him scared her to death.

A hand touched her shoulder. "Relax," a voice coaxed in her ear as she jumped. Although she knew who it was, she turned around to confirm it. There Luke was with a sad smile on his face as he stared at his sister.

Sighing, she started walking away from Luke. "He should be back now." She spun around abruptly. "Where is he?"

"He's fine, alright? Calm yourself." Leia started to speak up but was quieted when Luke placed his hand on her shoulder again. "_Relax_," he repeated.

Leia smiled the same grim smile that Luke had earlier. "Thanks," she murmured.

"I don't think you feel any better."

"Not unless you can tell me where he is."

Luke sighed and faced the window that Leia had been looking out earlier. "We all know Han and what he can do. He's fine."

Leia made an indistinct noise before heading out of the room towards the hangar. Luke, deciding to give up, rested his arms against the wall as he stared out through the window too, gazing at the clear sky.

It felt good to be off Coruscant. This planet was so clean, so _open_, it was intoxicating. Not to far away there was a little beach with waves that gently washed upon the shore; he wanted to go and just take a stroll through it, but the Republic had more pressing matters to attend too.

_Pressing._

He snorted at the word. More like _we have nothing else to do so we'll send you on recruit missions _matters. That was the reason why Han was gone.

Luke hated to see his sister like this, though. How awful would it be to see your love gone? Especially an ex-smuggler, Republic hero love? As one of the most famous people in the galaxy, he's also more likely to be a target of things.

The words_ Republic hero _tossed in his mind. A faint smile came to his lips as he remembered when he had first met Han in Mos Eisley when all he was concerned about was money. The conversation about Leia after that had rescued her made him laugh. Luke the Jedi was finally wrong.

Luke had to admit that he was worried about Han, too. He _was _scheduled to be back a couple of hours ago. He didn't want to lose his buddy, nor see his sister upset. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to reach out with the Force to sense him somewhere. Nothing came back to him. Opening his eyes again, he decided not to try anymore and trust his gut instinct that he would be back in one piece. He always was. Besides, he had Chewie with him.

As he headed towards the hangar, it occurred to him that the _Falcon _had been having troubles as it always did. Smiling confidently this time, he went to go find Leia to wait for his arrival.

As the hanger came into view, he noticed a familiar ship sitting inside. Luke blinked to make sure it was the _Falcon_; when he was sure of it, he glanced over and saw Han and Leia already in a passionate kissing session. Chuckling to himself, he muttered, "I'll leave you two alone" before heading out of the hangar.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Leia whispered to Han when they broke away.

"What do you think?" He nodded his head towards the ship. Giving her a lopsided smile, he said, "Now, how about another kiss?"

Giggling, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips before dashing away. His smile growing bigger, he shouted, "Hey, you tease! Come back!" before chasing after her.

He pushed his way through the pilots, keeping his eyes locked on her. _Man, she has a sexy butt_, he thought as he followed her. Soon she came into arm's reach, and he snatched her by the arm and pulled her in. She was laughing loudly, and in a snobby voice he scolded, "Now, princesses aren't supposed to run like that."

She opened her eyes and stared at him. "When you're the last princess of that planet you can."

The words shocked him. He had never heard her joke about Alderaan, but he laughed along with her. For some reason it made him feel relieved that she could finally joke about it. Suddenly her arm pulled away from his, and she was ducking through the officers again. For a moment, he just stared at her dashing away from him before comprehending what happened and started the pursuit again.

"Han back again?" somebody shouted as Leia ran out of the hangar.

"You bet," she laughed back.

She made her way throughout the labyrinth of hallways, evading Han a couple of times. After a while, she stopped and looked around her shoulder. Slumping against the wall, she tried to catch her breath as she smiled widely. Looking around, she really wasn't sure about where she was. Shaking her head, she grinned even wider at the thought of Han and her together again.

"Gotcha!"

Shrieking as two arms wrapped around him, she was suddenly off the ground and being spun around in the air. After a number of countless spins, she was on again and jerked around to see Han's face with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You won't be getting away this time," he said in a mock-fierce tone. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You'll have to do better than that since you caught me," she sneered playfully, yanking his head down to her lips. For a couple of seconds it was just lips on lips, a soft sort of passion going between them before her tongue was running against the opening of his lips. Gladly, he accepted it. Their tongues lingered on top of each other, taking turns rubbing the top of the other. Her arms started sliding up from the spot at his waist to his nape of his neck, and even then one hand roamed to his hair, twisting his fingers in the soft forest of chestnut. His arms tightened around her hips, pulling her even closer if that was possible.

They stood there, engulfed in the reunion and flurry of hormones, before somebody cleared their throat. Instantly, Leia yanked away and snapped her head to look at the person who had interrupted them. Her pink cheeks instantly turned to red when she saw Mon Mothma there. Clearing her throat, Mon Mothma started, "I see you lovers are together again."

Leia, too embarrassed to say anything, felt Han's arm drape over her shoulder and pull her close to him. "Yep, I'm back. Anything you need to say to her?"

Her gaze switched from Han to Leia as she cleared her throat. "I heard you were running earlier—"

"Is there a problem with having a little problem?" Han interjected as he stepped towards her.

"As a politician, she should know that behavior like that is inappropriate."

Han opened his mouth to say something, but Leia interrupted with, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again. I got carried away with my emotions. Do you need to inform me on something?"

As Mon Mothma started walking away with her, Leia turned around to him and mouthed _I'll be back soon _before returning to her conversation with the Republic leader.

"So, did Mon steal her away again?"

"Hey kid," Han greeted, giving Luke a one-armed hug. Glancing over to the place where Leia had exited at, he sighed and said, "Yep, again. She really doesn't care for me, does she?"

"Hey, you _were _a smuggler," Luke replied. "But I wish she would realize that Leia's her own person too."

"Yeah, me too." Han started heading the opposite way down the hallway, Luke following.

"So, you had a nice meeting with Leia, I suppose?"

Han snorted. "_Nice _doesn't begin to describe it, kid."

Grinning, Luke didn't do anything but nod. "So, did the aliens actually have intelligence?"

"They were intrigued by my vest."

"I'll take that as a no."

"But they considered joining the Republic." Han stopped and turned to face Luke in a familiar fashion as Leia had. "I guess I did something beneficial, didn't I?"

"I guess so."

He started heading down the hallway again before stopping for a second time. "Krething hallways. I can't remember where I'm at."

"Where you trying to go?"

"Back to the hangar."

"This way, Han." Luke started to lead the way back through the twisting corridors. "I forgot how much you can forget on a mission that long."

"Especially when they just moved here," Han muttered. "I wish they would stop sending me on stupid missions like this and let me stay with Leia."

"Mon wouldn't dare let that happen."

Han gave a short laugh. "Nope."

They stayed silent until they were back to the hangar, where Chewie growled over to Han. "I'll be right there," Han sighed.

"Ship again?"

"Yet I wouldn't give her up for anything."

Luke merely smiled again as he watched Han head up the lamp. After standing there fore a couple of seconds, he sighed and walked away, trying to pry his hands away from his sides. For some reason, something felt _wrong_. I didn't until Han set up the ramp; something dark clouded his mind, worry taking over him. Did something happen to Leia? Although the answer was most likely no, he had to stay on his toes. Stopping to check to see if the hallway he was standing in was empty, he sighed and closed his eyes, clearing his mind to see if he could see anything.

* * *

"_Stop this!" a voice cried._

_ Slowly, his gaze switched to a man in long, black robes, a cruel smile sneering down on his opponent. Without a word, he raised his fingers. The opponent fell on the ground, writhing in pain. "Help!" the victim screamed even though it was pointless. The man inflicting the pain cackled wildly._

_ "Nobody hears you," he said in nothing more than an evil whisper. "Only I do, but I'm not listening."_

_ And with that, he raised his hand even higher, and there was a piercing scream._

* * *

Taking a sharp inhale, he jerked his eyes open and jumped up onto his feet. He felt his hair damp with sweat, and he frantically wiped his forehead with his hand.

"Luke, are you alright?"

Glancing over, he saw Leia with concern etched on her face, a hand out as if she were to catch him if he fell.

Shaking his head quickly, he said, "Yeah, I think it was just a quick thing."

She opened her mouth, but no words came out for a couple of seconds. Finally, she said, "Luke, have you been sleeping? Eating?"

"Yeah, I'm alright now." He pushed her hand away and started heading down the corridor.

"Luke!"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, not stopping.

She sighed frustratingly and watched him leave. Something was wrong with her brother, and she was going to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

**~A/N: I am very sorry for the awkwardness. XP I've never been good at starting stories. Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews!~**

* * *

"Now where were we?"

Smiling, Leia rested her head on Han's chest. Finally, they were alone with each other, away from all the others. After struggling to find a place to _be _alone, there they were in the _Millennium Falcon_'s bunk room.

She felt his lips press down softly on her head. Closing her eyes, she felt his hand press up on her chin before kissing her on the lips. It was more reserved: it was just a kiss with an unspoken love shyly displayed in a clam way. Slowly, it grew more and more passionate until their tongues were dancing with each other's again, Han sitting down on the bed and letting Leia sit on his lap. They didn't break away for quite sometime; when they did, their lips lingered just a bare inch from each other, their foreheads touching the others.

"I missed you," she said softly.

"I think I missed you more."

Opening her eyes finally, she said, "Nope. I missed you the most."

Smirking, he leaned back and replied, "It was me and Chewie. I think _I _missed you more."

"Hey, hey, I only have one Han Solo and he was out flying about."

"I only have one princess, and she was waiting for her prince to come back."

"Touché. But I'm not that sure about the prince part…."

Standing up, he placed Leia back on the bunk before bowing in front of her. "Says the princess who chose me."

Grinning, she stood up too. "But you're my smuggler." She placed her hand on his cheek.

"Now don't get mushy on me. You know how easily I cry."

Rolling her eyes, she murmured, "Nerf."

"That's it, Princess." He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder and started heading out towards the ramp

Yelling out to him in a surprised but humorous voice, she said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson," he teased.

Heading out into the hangar, he put her down on the ground before announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Princess Leia Organa, lover of ex-smuggler turned Republic hero who believes she missed me more than I did her and—prepare yourself—likes to call me names!"

She felt blood creep into her cheeks, but she kept smiling. "What are you doing, Han?"

Bowing before her like he did earlier, he reached a hand out and said, "Oh, Princess, may I please have this dance?"

Unsure, she took his hand, and they started spinning moderately. "Are you drunk?"

Giving her a lopsided smile, he answered, "Nope. I just really missed you."

"Okay, your point has been made."

Laughing, he let go of her hands. "So I actually won?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say that."

"Of course." He glanced over at the _Falcon_. "Now if you will excuse me, I must end our reunion to go work on my ship."

"Oh, so you choose that over me? Okay." She flashed him a smile to make sure he knew she was joking.

"Yep. That's how it is. Sorry, you Worshipfulness." Bowing one last time, he headed off to the _Falcon_. Watching him leave, she chuckled before heading off herself. She had some things to do too. Prepare for future missions, keep up with the news, meetings about allies….

She stopped as she saw Luke hurry by in the hallway. Quickening her footsteps, she placed her hand on his back. "Luke? Are you sure you're okay?"

He turned around. "Yes, Leia, I'm fine."

"Then why were you on the floor sweating a couple of minutes ago?"

Sighing, he looked away. "It was just a vision," he mumbled.

"A vision? About what?"

"It was nothing."

"It _had _to be about something to make you so scared."

"I didn't even know the people in it. Its fine, Leia."

She stopped talking for a moment; the wheels in her mind seemed to be turning. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Pursing her lips, she paused for a couple more moments before saying, "All right, Luke, but if you need to tell me _anything_, I'm here." Their eyes locked on each other for a couple of moments before she turned around again and headed off.

Frustrated, he started his way back to his room. What he really needed to do was to meditate, and hopefully he could talk to Ben again and ask him what his vision meant.

The image of the man being tortured refused to leave his mind. Was there something coming? Was something awful going to happen? Who were the people?

Somebody bumped into him, interrupting his thoughts. "Hey, Wedge, what's wrong?"

Wedge stopped and turned around, mild anxiety expressed on his face. "One of our men is really sick. He just came back from his mission, and when he was on ground after joking for only a couple of minutes, he complained about a splitting headache and just- collapsed."

Luke froze. "Is he okay?"

"He _collapsed_. Do you _think_ he's okay?"

"Hey, watch the tone."

"Sorry, kid." He grinned for a split second. "Luke, I mean. You wanna' come check it out?"

"I would like too."

They headed towards the hospital wing, where a large group of people had already gathered. "Excuse me," Luke kept repeating as he pushed his way through the crowd. "I need to see him."

They let him through, but only so far. "Can't let you go past the glass yet," somebody said. "We need to see how contagious it is first."

Luke nodded to show he understood. He peered into the glass and he saw one of his closer colleagues on the table inside. It was scary to see him in the state he was in: his face was a deathly shade of white, his eyes puffy with something like a blue tint around them. His mouth was slightly gaped, like somebody had punched him in the gut and he was shocked that they did such a thing. His arms and legs looked limp, one leg hanging over the edge and his arms resting in weird positions.

"Is he still alive?" Luke asked in nothing barely more than a very hoarse whisper.

"So far yes," said the worker grimly.

Luke didn't like his tone. "Can you make him better?" he asked, ever though he knew the answer.

"We're not certain."

Luke didn't ask anything else; he just stared his friend's dead-looking body, and he was saddened. He had a wife and two young children. He couldn't just die. Luke knew how much he wanted to retire from the New Republic and stay with his family, but he loved flying and fighting for his government. They had to make him better. _They had too_.


	3. Chapter 3

**~A/N: Blah. I wrote this really late and I'm really tired and I just read a really bad fan fiction so this probably is awful. Sorry!~**

* * *

"You okay, kid?"

Luke didn't turn around for a couple of seconds; when he did, he saw Han staring at him with concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

Han sighed. "You've been here for almost an hour." Luke didn't respond. "Look, kid, let's get you away from this for a while. You can come back later, but right now Leia is worried about you and I feel like something other than this is bugging you."

Luke wanted to tell Han that he was right, but he was still uncertain about the vision. Reluctantly, Luke tore himself away from the glass and turned completely around to Han. Han gave a small grin. "There you go," he said softly.

"Nothing can happen to him," Luke said in barely more than a whisper. "He has a family."

"If I could switch places with him, I would. But all we can do is just wait to see what happens."

Han was so calm and quiet; it would've shocked Luke if he hadn't been so upset. Luke didn't necessarily know why he was so shaken up over the event—he supposed the idea of him dying and then leaving three kids and an adoring wife behind filled him with sorrow. It was only yesterday when he saw the five of them together. The Republic had allowed his family to come visit. As soon as he saw the wide grins on their faces from across the room, he was engulfed with hugs for the next half hour, playing with his children and forgetting all his worries.

And now he could die from this unknown ailment.

The thought of the disease chilled him to the bone—what was it? How dangerous and contagious was it? The questions were etched prominently in his mind, and he felt like he was going to explode. Deep inside of him, Luke just wanted to go and cure him on the spot, but he couldn't.

Could anyone? His throat tightened at the thought of three little children growing up without the father they had just saw laughing merrily before his collapse. Luke knew that kids lost their parents everyday; after all, he lost his aunt and uncle in a matter of hours, but it never really hit him. Especially when his children were so _young_.

"Wanna' talk to Leia, Luke?"

Han's voice interrupted his thoughts. Shaking his head slightly to get himself back to reality, Luke whispered a no. Frowning, Han studied him for a moment. "Well, I'm going to make you eat then off to bed with you!" The ending of the sentence turned into something like mocking sarcasm, but Luke didn't even smile.

He _did _listen to Han though, but the wheels in his brain kept turning. His thoughts never drifted away from the man.

_He has a family. He has a family._

Luke wanted to know why it bothered him so much; he wanted to find an antidote to stop obsessing over it, to just go to bed and eat and communicate fully tomorrow.

That night, he tried to sleep. Han had followed him around until Luke had said he as going to bed. He could feel Han sitting outside the room for a couple of minutes, but now he assumed that Han was working on the _Falcon_ of something.

Sleep just wasn't easy to achieve.

It wasn't necessarily the thought of his friend that was bother him; a lot of little, random thoughts were running through his head so quickly they just bundled up and he wasn't sure what to think of.

And then he realized something.

This was bothering him so bad… because of something else.

He tried to put his finger on it. He racked his brain, but nothing came to him. It was then when he was trying to think about it that he was drifting in and out of sleep until he finally succumbed to the battle and collapsed in slumber.

That night he had a dream.

Vaguely he remembered it when he woke up. There was a figure in a dark hood talking to somebody that looked like himself, but at the same time it was an out-of-body type of dream.

The hooded figure was warning him about something….

And there was a man slumped in the corner….

"I'm really worried about the kid."

Luke stopped to listen to the two voices outside his door.

"I am too. I've never seen Luke so disconnected."

Luke slowly stood up and shuffled closer to the door.

"…you have no suggestions on what to do?" It was a soft female voice that sounded like Leia.

"Do I look like a therapist to you?" Without even the vocal sounds, the sarcasm gave Han away. "I say we just leave him alone and let himself come out of it."

"What? Abandon him, basically?"

"Not _abandon _him. Still be around, just let himself recover. Maybe we can encourage him—"

Luke flung the door open. Han and Leia stopped in mid-argument and turned their heads to face Luke. Han straightened his body as Leia said, "Good morning, Luke. You doing okay?"

"Yeah." He didn't know what to say to Leia. "I don't know why I acted the way I did yesterday," he started unsurely. "Can I talk to Leia for a moment?" His eyes flickered to Han before slowly shifting back to Leia.

Han nodded. "Of course you don't need me," he said in a mock-hurt/snooty tone. He turned on heel and headed down the hallways.

"What do you need to talk about?" Leia said after Han was out of earshot.

"I think… I've seen something like this happen before."

She stared at him. "What?"

"Not necessarily in person. I think… in a dream or vision maybe."

"If it was a vision—do you remember anything else?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm trying to remember, though," he breathed.

"Just take your time and hopefully you'll remember it."

Luke nodded. "I—"

"Luke!"

"That was Han," he heard Leia say. He rushed off in the direction Han went and stopped when he saw somebody sprawled on the floor. Han was bending over and scooping the soldier in his arms.

Luke recognized the person immediately. He was a new recruit that had been so eager to join the Republic.

Had he fallen to the same fate as the one before?

"Be careful Han, you don't know how contagious this thing is," Leia said worriedly.

"I'm running him to the medical wing," Han announced, taking off as fast as he can with Luke and Leia following behind. Random sentences were thrown at them, but Luke only comprehended a couple of words. More people were following them, trying to give Han a hand, but he didn't stop until he was at the medical wing, which Luke now realized was a very long run, especially with who knows how many pounds being carried. And Han only took about a minute to catch the breath that was semi-present.

The workers and droid quickly got him into a room, his body swelling up like the others. Luke caught a glimpse of his pal and was horrified when he saw Thren was in even worse shape than before. It seemed like every visible part of his sick was swollen, and it was like all the blood in his body was gone, leaving dark, purple spots in some parts.

Luke didn't even realize he wasn't breathing until Han interrupted his thoughts. He took a deep breath when he heard Han say, "I'm fine. I don't need to see if I caught anything."

"But sir, you carried the sick man who we are considering highly contagious at the moment—"

"Han Solo doesn't get sick."

Luke was about to intervene when he saw Leia go up to him. She gave him a look and merely said his name before he agreed grudgingly after a couple moments of staring at Leia.

"How do you do it?" Luke muttered to her.

"Easy enough. Get a guy hooked, and you're on his little finger." She gave a small smile. "But when it's Han Solo, it usually has a better chance on small things like these."

Luke grinned. "Remind me again why he ever stuck around with us in the first place." It was more of a statement than a question.

Leia chuckled before she looked Luke up and down. "You might want to get dressed."

He glanced down and realized he was still in his sleepwear. "That might be a good idea."

"I'll wait here for Han."

"Okay." Luke headed back towards his room, realizing that the halls were empty now because it seemed as if everybody already knew about the young recruit's collapse.

It was then where he decided to try to remember where he thought he had seen the sickness before. He thought of every dream, every vision, every hologram—

But he couldn't seem to remember where he had seen it for the life of him.

He closed his eye and took a deep breath.

* * *

"_Surrender. Your powers are too weak."_

_ The man in the middle of the room staggered. "I'd rather die."_

_ "If that's what you want, I can give it to you now."_

_ He stared up at the hooded figure and watched as it raised it's hand…._

_ Darkness._


	4. Chapter 4

Luke jolted upright. He felt sweat beading his forehead as he glanced around the hallway. Realizing his heart was beating rapidly, he took deep breaths to calm himself. Reminding himself what his original plan was, he noticed his room was only two doors down.

As he opened the door, he froze. It felt like a giant cold hand had gripped his body, paralyzing him.

_You can't save them._

As soon as it started, it was gone. Still frozen, but this time in terror, the strange voice repeated itself over and over in his head, scaring him even more every time he heard the sentence. It wasn't the fact that a bodiless voice was whispering eerie things inside his head that scared him; it was the fact that he had heard the voice before.

Suddenly the Jedi was full of worry.

Han walked out of the office, scowling. Leia greeted him, and noticing his scowl, she asked, "What happened?"

"The fact that they thought I could get sick."

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She knew better than to laugh at Han when he was legitimately annoyed, but this was too good to her. Apparently Han caught on to her amusement.

"You think this is funny?" he said.

"Yes, actually."

He spun around and started heading down the hallway. "Why?"

Following him, she replied, "Oh, Han, have I ever told you I love you?" Her hand gripped his shoulder and gently pulled on it to turn him around. Though he was still frowning on her, she put a hand around his chin and placed her lips softly on his.

"Mmm, that was nice, sweetheart," he said, caressing her cheek. "But you never answered my question."

"Do I need too?"

"Maybe you can convince me otherwise with another kiss."

Smiling, she answered his wish. When they broke apart, Han smiled at her, still tenderly rubbing her face. "Gods, you're so beautiful."

She turned away from him, feeling her face get hot.

"Where you going, Princess?" He reached out for her. "Don't tell me you're still blushing."

"I always have and always will."

"Aw, are you that embarrassed of me?"

She flung around to look him straight in the eye. "If I was so embarrassed, would I do this?" She jerked his head to hers and crushed her lips against his, sliding her tongue into his mouth.

After a few seconds, he leaned his mouth away from hers. "Don't do that out here. I'll do things that aren't accepted in the public."

She giggled. "If only I didn't have such a dignified position, I'd let you."

"Hey, you're already with a smuggler. How much lower can you go?"

"Han, you're not low at all."

He smiled at her. "I love you."

She nodded. "I know." Taking a step back, she looked around. "Where's Luke at?"

"Oh, let's forget about me," Han teased. "I know where I stand."

"Seriously, where's Luke? He was just supposed to go change."

"I'll go get him." Han headed down the hallways with Leia at his heels. Softly knocking on the door, Han said, "Luke? You okay?"

"You really just called him Luke?" Leia breathed.

He looked back at her. "What's wrong with that? I have before."

She shook her head, a tiny smile on her face.

Han bounced on the balls of his feet. "Hey, what's with the kid?" He heard Leia giggle behind him. "I mean Luke," he said, frowning." Knocking on the door again, he called, "Luke!"

No response.

"I'm going in," he said. "If a Jedi can't sense me at the door, much less hear people knocking…."

He jiggled the doorknob, feeling relieved when he found it was unlocked. Slowly, he cracked open the door, peering inside. He saw nobody. "Leia, stay out here, will you?"

Horror filled her eyes. "What happened?"

He placed his hands around her face. "Nothing. I just didn't see him and I don't know what he's doing."

Still unsure, she nodded.

Han took a couple of steps into the apartment. "Luke, are you okay?" He heard murmurs from around the corner. He glanced around the wall to see Luke sprawled out on the floor, his head laying on one side and his arms and legs lying in awkward positions. "What the—" Han started, running to Luke's side. His eyes opened wide, he gently started tapping Luke's face. "Kid, wake up," he muttered. Luke groaned softly. A little of the panic left his body. At least he wasn't dead.

Han heard soft footsteps coming from behind him. "Oh my—" he heard Leia gasp. She kneeled on the other side of Luke. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I found him like this."

Leia leaned closer to Luke. "Luke, honey. Wake up."

Han shook his shoulders. "Come on, kid."

"Luke…." Leia's voice cracked. "Luke." Han caught a glimpse of tears forming in Leia's eyes.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Han coaxed. "He's still alive. He'll get out of this." Han lifted Luke up into a sitting position and leaned him against his body. "Leia, go get some water."

She nodded, running out of the dim hallway.

"Luke… come on, buddy, snap out of this," Han murmured. "Wake up."

Leia came back in with a pitcher of water in one hand and a wash cloth in the other. She dipped the cloth into the pitcher and started dabbing Luke's face. After many minutes of doing this, Luke's eyes sluggishly opened. Leia sighed, relieved, even though Luke's eyes looked glossy and incomprehensive.

"Hey, Luke," Han said softly. "How you doing?"

Luke moaned, slumping over and putting his head in his hands. "I have a massive headache," he said hoarsely.

"Want us to take you to the hospital wing?" Leia offered.

Luke moaned again, as if he didn't want too, but he said, "I guess that might be a good idea."

Leia grinned sadly. "Let's take him down," she said. Helping Han pick him up, the wrapped his arms around their shoulders and carried him down to the hospital wing. When the arrived, the medical attendant looked horrified. "Not the illness again."

"No, just a massive headache, apparently," Han answered with strained breath as he maneuvered Luke off of them.

The medical attendant looked relieved as she heard what Han said. "I'll help you take him back."

Leia watched them carry him away. She crossed her arms and looked around the room, feeling tears prick at her eyes. By the time Han came back, tears were streaming down her face. The wide smile Han had vanished when he saw her.

"Sweetheart, why are you crying? Luke's okay."

"But what if he wasn't?" She looked at him straight in the eye. "What if he would've died? That scared me, Han. Two people in less than twenty-four hours were already infected with a disease that not even the Republic had records of. Luke could've been one of them." She looked down again and cupped her hands around her head.

Han stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, placing his cheek on top of her head as he always did. "Shh," he whispered to her. "The most important thing is that what you said were only ifs. Ifs are never reality, so why are you worrying?"

She closed her eyes and absorbed his embrace, but even then she was worried. "That's where you're wrong," she murmured.

He let go of her and pushed her gently away to look at her. "How am I wrong?"

"Sometimes those ifs do come true."


	5. Chapter 5

The hangar was dark. Everybody was in their beds or at a bar, but in the _Falcon _a single light was on. On top of a bunk laid Han Solo, Leia resting against him, her head propped up on his outstretched arm. Both were in pajamas and the sheets were coiled around their knees. She rolled over, moving her head to his shoulder area and placing her arm on top of his chest.

"Relax, Leia." His outstretched arm slid behind her neck. "He's fine. He's not sick. Luke will be okay."

"I hope you're right," she murmured.

"It's Han Solo, sweetheart. When have I been wrong?"

A small smile came to her lips, but flickered away again. "Are we seriously going there?"

He rolled over onto his side, causing Leia's head to drop back to the mattress. "Hey." He leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "I'm here, alright? I'll always be here."

She closed her eyes. "I'm just scared. I don't want to loose the last person in my family."

"You won't." He picked up her hands in his, gently rubbing them in a circular pattern.

"I like it when you do that," she said softly.

"With my callused hands?"

"That's what I like. Your hands aren't soft like they've never done anything before. Their hard and cracked from everything you've done." She opened her eyes and rolled onto her side to face him, pulling her hands away.

Han tenderly brushed away some loose hair from her face. He propped his self up. "Has anybody told you you're beautiful?"

"I think someone might have mentioned it."

He gave his crooked smirk. "I'll tell you now you're gorgeous."

Leia bit her lower lip, trying to hold back a smile. She suddenly grabbed the sheets on the bunk and threw it over her head.

"What are you doing?" Han exclaimed. "I'm trying to see that lovely face of yours." He gripped the cover, yanking it off of her. She laughed as she jumped out of the bed.

Resting on his knees, he gazed at her. "Your body is even better."

Smirking, she walked out of the room in a mocking-seductive way.

"Are you teasing me?" he called out after her.

She giggled before being picked up suddenly and spun around. Both laughing, Han set Leia down before turning her around again and kissing her lightly.

"It's late," Leia said. "I'm going to bed."

"With me?"

She grinned. "No, Han. Not today."

"Aw, I'll be so lonely."

Sighing in a playful manner, she replied, "Okay, then. But if you so much as touch me—"

"Sweetheart, learn to trust me."

"I do." She started heading towards the bunk room. "I'm just giving you a warning."

In the morning, Leia woke up to see Han still sleeping soundly. She sat up as he gave a rather loud snore, and put a robe on. The very first thing she did was head down to the hospital wing after changing.

She was taken back to see Luke. He was lying on a bed eating something she wasn't sure she had ever seen before. "Hey, you feeling okay?" she said.

Luke flipped around and grinned. "Yeah. My headache is much, much better. Still there a little, but so much better."

"You really scared us there."

"Sorry." He shrugged. "I'm not really sure what happened."

Leia pulled a chair by a wall to the side of his bed. "Luke, what's been happening with you? You've been acting odd lately."

"Nothing's been happening, Leia."

"What are you seeing?"

Taken aback, Luke stopped for a moment. "What—"

"Luke, I'm your twin sister. I'm as capable of being as Force-sensitive as you are which gives me even more props."

He sighed and pushed his tray away from him a little. "I'm not really sure what I'm seeing. Just flashes of somebody being tortured by… a black robe."

She nodded. "You don't understand it at all?"

"Nope. It's one of those moments I wish I had Ben."

She looked down at her lap. "He seemed like a great guy."

"He was."

A nurse rushed past their door. "What's going on?" Leia muttered as she heard footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Luke winced and placed his head in his hands.

_Very soon… very soon…._

"Luke? Luke, honey, are you okay?"

He opened his eyes to see Leia's concerned face peering down at him.

"Ye—yeah."

"I have to go now, okay?" She kissed his forehead. "Bye, Luke." She ran out the door.

Luke could only wonder what happened.


End file.
